Edge-holding device for sheet-glass machines



April 13 1926. 1,580,128.

- J. H. FOX I EDGE HOLDING DEVICE FOR SHEET GLASS MACHIMJS Filed May 2, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

. A TTOR J H. FOX

EDGE HOLDING DEVICE FOR SHEET GLASS MACHINES A ril 13, 1926. 1,580,128-

Filed May g, 1924. 3-Sheets-Shet '2 INVENTOR. J 17 ATTORNEY I Patented Apr. 13; 192

Joim 11. Fox,-

I UNITED STATE-SPATENT. OFFICE.

or rrrrsnunen, PEN SYLVANIA, AssIeNon T PITTSBURGH PLATE GLAjss COMPANY, A oonrona'rron or rnnnsyrvama.

' unes-Hopping nnvron FOR SfiEET-GLASS macnmns.

Application and ma 2,

' To all whom it mdy co ncemi' Edge-Holding Device for Sheet-GIaSsMzu chines, of which the following is a spec1fica-' the invention is-illustra'ted in the accomtion;

The invention relatesto' apparatus for use with a glass sheet drawing machine. It has for its object the provision of an improved automatic meansfor preventing the edges of the sheetfrom moving inwarddurmgthe [drawing operationand gradually reducing,

the width of the sheet. One embodiment of panying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation, showlng the drawing a paratus with whlch the edge holding. device constltutmg the present invention-is preferably used. Fig.

2 is a side elevation of one of the edge holding devices inp'osi'tion of use. Fig. 3.is an end elevation of the device of Fig. 2. .Fig. 4 is a detail, plan view of the device for reciprocating the operating,

ack. And Fig. 5 is a section'on the'line V of Fig. 2.

Referring first to the general arrangement-ofparts as illustrated in Fig. 1, .the

principal parts may be enumerated as follows: 1 is the drawing tank or extension carryinga molten bath of glass 2'in communication with' a suitable melting tank, not

shown; 3 and 4 are endless belts, preferably of asbestos fabric for continuously drawing 1 the sheet of glass 15 from the molten bath;

6 and? are the driving pulleys for the belts, such beltsbeing driven from a suitable mo-- tor, not shown; .8 and 9 are solid steel bars circular in cross section lying in the lower ends of the beltsand serving by reason of their weight to'hold the belts in tension; 10 are a series ofrolls backjof the inner'fiights of the belts for .pre'ssing thebelts against the glass, such rolls being-yieldingly held inward by means of springs or weights, not shown; Hand 12 are pairs of driven rolls covered with asbestos for assisting in the pulling of the sheet; and 13 is one 'of the edge holding devices to which the present invention is particularly directed, it being understood that such edge holding devices may be used in connection with any form of drawing mechanism, although the one as position of the 1924. Serial No. 710,569.

briefly illustrated and described is preferred.

It will also beunderstood'that an edgev .holding device, such as that shown in Fig. 2 is applied at each side of the sheet, but for brevity of description and illustration. only one of-such device is shown and described. The framework upon which the device is mounted consists of the bottom plate 14, the inclined angleinembers 15 (Figs. 2 and 3), the brace members 16' and the cap member 17 riveted to the angle members 15 as indicated in Fig.5. This cap member is provided with the forwardly projecting arms 17" carrying the transverse rod 19, upon which is mounted the guide member 18, such guide member being adjustable about the rod 19 as. an axis; The rear end of the guide member 18 is adjusted by means of the three bolts 20 and 21. The bolts'20 hold the end of the guide member 18 against downward movement, while the bolt 21 bearing against the top of the guide n'iember holds it against upward movement. By means of these three bolts, the guide momber18 and the parts carried thereby may be adjusted around the axis 19 to vary the operating tool as hereinafterdescribed. 7 U

, Slidably mounted in the guide member 18 is the plate 22, bolted at its rear end to the casting" 23. .The plate 22 has bolted to its lower side the plate 24 and the forward end of this plate is turned downward as indicated at. 25 (Fig. 2) and acts as a support for the guide pipe 26, such pipe being clamped at its forward end to by means. of the nuts 27.

Extending through the guide pipe 26 and the casting 23 is therod 28 which carries the rackbar 29 for operatingthe edging tool. The bar 28 is normally pressed rearthe part 25 .ward by the spring 30 and is moved forwardly by the plate 31 provided with the pins 32. The plate 31 is mounted upon a shaft 33 driven from -suitable. mechanism, I not shown, and the rotation of this plate causes the pins 32 tosuccessively engage a cam member 34 carried upon the rear end of thero'd The slidable support of the plate 22 provides'for the adjustment of the entire mechanism, including the casting 23, l1orizontally toward and from the edge of the glass sheet to vary the position of theedging tool to meet conditions. The plate 22 is clamped in any desired longitudinal position of adjustment by means of the set screw 17 (Fig. .2) which extends down through the guide member 18 and bears against the top of the plate 22.

The lowerend of the part also acts as a guide support for a rod which carries at its forward end a block 36. This block has an upwardly extending portion 37 which acts as a guide for the rack bar and also carries a transverse pin 38 upon which are mounted the finger bars 39 for holding out the edge of the glass sheet. Intermediate the finger bars 39 is a spur gear 40 in engagement with the rack so that' the reciprocation of the rack bar serves to swing the-finger bars from the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 2 to the vertical dotted line position. Mounted in the casting 23 is the reduced shank portion 41'of the operat ing sleeve 42, and to the forward end of this In order'tocool the finger bars 39 intheir uppermost position, as indicated in the dotted lines, the water cooled manifold 43 is used, 'suchmanifold being supported upon the arms 44 and having aninlet pipe 45 on one sideand an outlet pipe on the other side,

I whereby a cooling fiuld may be circulated through the manifold.v ,The arms 44 are pivoted at 46 upon the block 36 and are held n .theposition illustrated by means of the spring, 47, the arms carrying at their lower ends .a stop portion 48 which bears against stop portions on the block 36, so that the movement of the manifold-to the left is limited'by these means, When it is desired to remove the plate 22 to the right together with all the operative'p'arts carried thereby, the set screw 17 is loosened and the apparatus pulled to the left. The mounting.

of the manifold 45 on the arms 44 so that it can swing to the right permits such manifold and the arms 44 to mov'e down beneath the guide 18 as the machine is withdrawn to the left.

The apparatus is capable of wide variation in the matter of details of construction,

as many forms of mechanism might be employed for swinging the finger bars in the desired path of movement and for securing the adjustment of these fingers. The broad invention contemplates any and all means of securing the oscillation of the finger members back and forth on the same line of travel for both movements and any and all means for cooling the finger bars when in their position of retraction, although the method of cooling by contact with a manifold or other similar member is preferred.

. The finger bars 39 are preferably secured together and operated in unison, thus providing a fork enclosing the edge of the sheet, but this is not necessarily the case, as the same function would be secured, although in a less convenient and simple form, by having these bars operable independently and not in unison. The primary consideration is the thinning of the tapering base of the sheet at the edge by a tool which oscillates back and forth vertically and strips down the glass at the tapered base of the sheet, such tapered base being indicated in dotted lines at 49 in .Fig. 3. In case, the glass in such base is cooled and thinned by thefinger bars to too great an extent, the period between oscillations of such bar may be increased by slowing down the speed of operation of the shaft 33,-or the depth to which the bars are pressed into the glass may be decreased by adjusting the-bar 35 to the right. The locus of the oscillation may be also adjusted by adjusting the guide member 18 about its supporting pivot 19 by means of the bolts 20 and 21 as heretofore described. In case the position of the edge of the sheet changes so that the finger bars may be moved in and out by loosening said.

screw 17 and sliding the plate 22 in or out.

What I claim is: 1. In combination with apparatus for drawing a glass sheet from a molten bath,

means for preventing inward movement of "the edge of the sheet comprising a pair of fingers spaced apart so that they will straddle the edge of the sheet, and mechanism for moving said fingers at intervals downward along the edge of the sheet and into the tapering base thereof to thin it and then back from such position along substan-' tially the same path.

2. In combination with apparatus for drawing a glass sheet from a molten bath, meansfor preventing inward movement of the edge of the sheet comprising a pair of fingers spaced apartso that they will straddle'the edge of the sheet, mechanism for moving said fingers at intervals downward along the edge of the sheet and into the tapering base of the sheet to thin it and then back from such position along substantially the same path, and means for cooling the fingers upon their return to their starting position.

3. In combination with apparatus for drawing a glass sheet from a molten bath, means for prevent ng lnward movement ofv the edge of the sheet comprising a pair of fingers spaced apart so that they will ward along the edge of the sheet and into the tapering base of the sheet to thin it and straddle the edge of the sheet, mechanism for moving said fingers at intervals downthen from suchfposition along substantially the same path and a cooling member with whichthe fingers are adapted to con- {tact when returned to starting position. f

I fingers spaced apart so that they will I 4; In combination. with apparatus for; "drawing a glass sheet from a-molten bath,

means tor preventing inward movement of the edgeof the sheet comprising a pair of straddle the edge of the sheet, and pivoted opposite the edge ofthe sheet, and mecha-- nism for swinging the fingers at intervals about their pivot so that they move down ward along the edge of the sheet and into drawing aglass sheet from a'molten'bath,

means for preventing'inward movement of. the edge of the sheet comprising a pair of fingers spaced apart -so that they will straddle the edge of the sheet,- a cooling tool, and mechanism for moving said tool at intervals (l) downwardly along the side of thesheet at its edge and in close proximity thereto and into the tapering base of the sheet to thin suclrbase at the edge of the sheet and then back from such position along substantially the same path as that pursued-in the forward movement.

6. In combination with apparatus for drawing a glass sheet from a moltenbath, means for preventin'g'inward movement of the edge of the sheet comprising a cooling tool, means for cooling the tool and mechanism for moving said tool at intervals (1) downwardly along the side of the sheet at the glass downwardly and thin such base at the edge of the -sheet,-(2) and then back from such position along substantially the same path'as that pursued in the downward movement. V

7. In combination with apparatus for drawing a glass sheetfrom a-molten bath,

means for 'preventing'inward movement of the edge of the sheet comprising a cooling tool, cooling means with which the tool-contacts while'in starting position, and mechanism for moving saidtool at intervals '(1) its edge and in close proximity thereto and 1nto the tapering base of the sheet to strip downwardly along the'side of the sheet at its edge and in close proximity thereto and into the. tapering base of the sheet to strip theglass downwardly and thin such base at the edgeof the-sheet, (2) and then back from such position-falong substantially the same'path as that pursued in thedownward I movement. 7

8. In combination with apparatus for drawing'aglass sheet from a molten bath,

means or preventing inward movement of the edge of the sheet comprising a cooling tool, means for cooling the tool while in its r.

initial or starting position, and mechanism for moving said tool at intervals (1) downwardly along the side of the sheet at its edge and in close proximity thereto and into the tapering base of the sheet to strip the glass downwardly" and thin -such base at the edge of the sheet, (2) and then back from such position along substantially the same path as that pursued in the downward movement. V

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 31st-day of March, 1924.

JOHN H. FOX. 

